Cassini ends 2004 with flyby of icy moon IapetusDec 30:
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is set to cap off 2004 with an encounter of Saturn's
ying-yang moon Iapetus on New Year's Eve. Iapetus is a world of sharp contrasts.
The leading hemisphere is as dark as a freshly-tarred street, and the white,
trailing hemisphere resembles freshly-fallen snow.FULL STORYEARLIER IAPETUS IMAGERY

Tethys' great riftDec 30:
This dazzling new view of Saturn's moon Tethys from the Cassini spacecraft shows
the tremendous rift called Ithaca Chasma, which is 60 miles wide in places, and
runs nearly three-quarters of the way around the icy moon.FULL STORY

Stars of wonder, stars of infrared and X-ray lightDec 29:
This montage shows three clusters of bright, young stars in X-ray (blue) and
infrared (green) light that lie in the direction of the centre of the Galaxy.
Like many stars in the disk of the Galaxy, they are difficult, if not impossible,
to see with an optical telescope because of interstellar dust that blocks the
visible light.FULL STORY

Asteroid 2004 MN4 will missEarth in 2029Dec 27:
One potential hammer blow from space can now be dismissed for the foreseeable future:
astronomers have just refined the orbit of near-Earth asteroid 2004 MN4 and
can state categorically that it will miss our planet on April 13th, 2029.FULL STORY

Jupiter's moon Amalthea was probably capturedDec 24:
The first ground-based infrared spectrum of Jupiter's moon Amalthea reveals that it
must have formed far from its current location. This new result, based on observations
with the Subaru telescope and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, sheds new light
on our solar system's turbulent past.FULL STORY

Cassini orbiter deploys Titan descent probeDec 24:
In a long-awaited milestone, a European-built probe carrying cameras and a suite of
scientific instruments was released from NASA's Cassini Saturn orbiter Christmas Eve,
setting up a dramatic January 14th plunge into the atmosphere of the ringed planet's
mysterious moon Titan.FULL STORYDETAILED TIMELINE

World's most powerful infrared camera begins observations in HawaiiDec 22:
A new astronomical camera has begun operations on the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
(UKIRT) in Hawaii. The Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) is the world's most powerful infrared
survey camera. It will survey large regions of the sky at infrared wavelengths and is
expected to discover both the nearest objects outside our solar system and the farthest
known objects in the universe.FULL STORY

Aging universe may still be spawning giant "baby" galaxiesDec 21:
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer has spotted what appear to be massive "baby" galaxies
in our corner of the universe. Previously, astronomers thought the universe's birth rate
had dramatically declined and only small galaxies were forming.FULL STORY

Saturn lightning, rotation discoveries madeDec 20:
As NASA's Cassini spacecraft approached Saturn last July, it found evidence that
lightning on the planet is roughly one million times stronger than lightning
on Earth.FULL STORY

New clouds add to mystery of Saturn's moon TitanDec
19:
Using adaptive optics on the Gemini North and Keck II telescopes on Mauna Kea,
Hawaii, a U.S. team has discovered a new phenomenon in the atmosphere of Saturn's
largest moon Titan. Unlike previous observations showing storms at the south
pole, these new images reveal atmospheric disturbances at Titan's temperate
mid latitudes — about halfway between
the equator and the poles.FULL STORY

Saturn's outer rings may be eroding, Cassini data showsDec
18:
A massive eruption of atomic oxygen from Saturn's outer rings, seen by Cassini's
ultraviolet camera as the spacecraft neared its destination, may be an indication
that the planet's wispy E ring is eroding so fast that it could disappear within
100 million years if not replenished.FULL STORY

Hubble puts a new twist on an old nebulaDec
17:
Looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to celestial objects like galaxies
and nebulae. These objects are so far away that astronomers cannot see their
three-dimensional structure. The colourful Helix Nebula is one good example.FULL STORY

Before and after look at Saturn's moon TitanDec 16:
Cassini's second close flyby of Titan completes a 'before' and 'after' look at the fuzzy
moon and provides the first direct evidence of changing weather patterns in the skies
over Titan.FULL STORY

Symphony of colours in the Tarantula NebulaDec 15:
The Tarantula Nebula is the most vigorous star forming region known in the local universe.
This amazing panorama was created by a young amateur astronomer from images captured by the
Hubble Space Telescope.FULL STORY

Earth's safe zone got hot during legendary stormsDec 15:
A NASA-funded study found a region between radiation belts surrounding the Earth
is not as benign as once thought. The region was considered a safe zone for
satellites in "Middle Earth"
orbits, because of relatively small amounts of radiation.FULL STORY

Pulsar gives insight into ultra dense matterDec 15:
A long look at a young pulsar with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory revealed
unexpectedly rapid cooling, which suggests that it contains much denser matter
than previously expected. The pulsar's cool temperature and the vast magnetic
web of high-energy particles that surrounds it have implications for the theory
of nuclear matter and the origin of magnetic fields in cosmic objects.FULL STORY

Cassini has another successful Titan flybyDec 13:
The Cassini spacecraft completed a successful rendezvous with Saturn's moon Titan
on Monday, December 13th. This was the last pass before the European Space Agency's
Huygens probe is sprung loose from Cassini on Christmas Eve.FULL STORYCASSINI NEWS ARCHIVE

From Saturn's dark sideDec 11:
As Cassini swung around to the dark side of the planet during its first close
passage after orbit insertion, the intrepid spacecraft spied three ring moons — Mimas,
Janus and Prometheus — whizzing around the planet.FULL STORY

'Solar ultrasound' waves discovered by satelliteDec 10:
The Sun's atmosphere is filled with ultrasound-like waves that may help solve
decades-old mysteries about the Sun and space weather, according to Southwest
Research Institute scientists who found the waves in data from NASA's TRACE
spacecraft.FULL STORY

Spitzer, Hubble capture evolving planetary systemsDec 9:
Two of NASA's Great Observatories, the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope,
have provided astronomers an unprecedented look at dusty planetary debris around stars the
size of our Sun.FULL STORY

Report: Shuttle servicing of Hubble is best optionDec 8:
To ensure continuation of the extraordinary scientific output of the Hubble Space Telescope
and to prepare for its eventual de-orbiting, NASA should send a space shuttle mission, not
a robotic one, says a new congressionally requested report from the National Academies'
National Research Council.FULL STORY

Saturn's moon Iapetus as you've never seen itDec 8:
New details on Iapetus are illuminated by reflected light from Saturn in this revealing
Cassini image. Never-before-seen features on the Saturn-facing part of Iapetus' bright
trailing hemisphere are visible for the first time.FULL STORYCASSINI NEWS ARCHIVE

Explosions in majestic spiral galaxy beautiesDec 5:
Images of beautiful galaxies, and in particular of spiral brethren of our own Milky Way,
leaves no one unmoved. It is difficult indeed to resist the charm of these impressive
grand structures.FULL STORY

Cassini captures Saturn moon red-handedDec 4:
Stealing is a crime on Earth, but at Saturn, apparently it is routine. The Cassini
spacecraft has witnessed Saturn's moon Prometheus snatching particles from one of
Saturn's rings.FULL STORY

Did our Sun capturealien worlds?Dec 1:
Computer simulations show a close encounter with a passing star about 4 billion years
ago may have given our solar system its abrupt edge and put small, alien worlds into
distant orbits around our sun.FULL STORY

Gazing down on SaturnDec 1:
The Cassini spacecraft pierced the ring plane and rounded Saturn a few weeks
ago, capturing these pictures that NASA has released showing the dark portion
of the planet's majestic rings.FULL STORY

A baby galaxy uncovered in a grown-up universeDec 1:
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, a scientist has identified what may be the
youngest galaxy ever seen in the universe. By cosmological standards it is a
mere toddler. Called I Zwicky 18, it may be as young as 500 million years old.
Comparatively, our Milky Way galaxy is about 12 billion years old, the typical
age of galaxies across the universe.FULL STORY

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